Disclosure. This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.. All opinions are my own.
Earlier this year I reviewed The Enchanted Coin by Bob Doerr and I have now received a free e-copy of The Rescue of Vincent, the second title in the series to review. To find out more about the author you may visit his website.
Here is the book blurb.
Fourteen year old Ricky Street discovers a magical coin in a small creek near his parent’s Florida home. The coin has his name inscribed on it along with directions that he toss it into the fountain by the Tree of Life. He does so and suddenly finds himself transported to a strange world where he encounters two other teen agers from two separate worlds who had also been transported there by magical coins that they had found. The three soon meet Vincent Wollitzer, whom they save from drowning in quicksand, and learn that if Vincent doesn’t reach civilization soon his world will be thrust into a terrible war. The exciting adventures the four experience in their efforts to get Vincent back to civilization include surviving attacks by dragons, sea monsters, and other strange creatures.
Adventure and tossing a magical coin into the fountain by the Tree of Life at Disney World is the link between this book and The Enchanted Coin, the first title in the series. But all the characters are different.
So the story starts with 14 year old Ricky finding a coin during a storm. Just like in the first book, the coin is engraved with a personalised message “Ricky Street, throw this coin into the fountain in front of the Tree of Life!”. He shows it to his Mom and together they plan a trip to Disney World. But when he tosses the coin into the fountain, everything goes dark.
He can’t see anything. Where is he? Where is his Mom? A girl speaks to him in the darkness. She is Lexus and she too has just thrown a coin into a lake. Then a scream and another boy, Bebo arrives, who also tossed a coin into a river. They have all been transported to this dark cave, but why?
When they reach daylight, they observe how different they all look. Lexus has blue skin and hair, whilst Bebo is hairless and very short. They are all from different worlds. Soon they also start coming across dangerous creatures and poisonous plants, but they use their varied abilities to work togther as a team.
When they hear a call for help, is that why they have all been brought here? They discover another boy trapped in quicksand. This is Vincent who was in a plane crash, enroute to becoming leader of his world. Vincent looks different too, being very furry. If he doesn’t get there, a terrible war may ensue. Can they all pull together overcoming the challenges, to get Vincent there in time? And will the others be able to return to their own worlds?
I really loved how this story celebrates the diversity and teamwork of the 4 main characters. But I would have preferred a bit more variation between the covers of both this book and the previous title.
The Rescue of Vincent is another brilliant fantasy adventure read, which I highly recommend to teens and children aged 9+.
And for those of you like me, who hadn’t heard of it, here is some information regarding the Tree of Life at Disney World. Sounds an amazing sculpture with over 300 carvings of species including some extinct, plus a theatre at the base.
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